Alex Abelin, co-founder and CEO of LiquidTalent, and Navid Hadzaad, founder and CEO of GoButler, form a panel moderated by Tiffanie Stanard, founder and CEO of We are MENT, and discusses the future of gig economy and how it shapes our lives. Alex also talks about how on-demand economy is limited to blue-collared jobs and insists on the need to extend it to upper-tier jobs.
Some of our key takeaways from the conversation:
- Need for On-demand Skilled Workforce:
The millennial is an entrepreneurial generation; for them, the need of workforce is immediate and may be even temporary, making on-demand economy an ideal scenario. Although there’s a risk that on-demand economy may surpass the conventional workforce, it offers a chance to the workforce to earn higher wages and be presented with greater opportunities. - Virtual Assistants Save the Day:
Discovery and retention of users are some of the biggest challenges for any app. In addition to this, retention of niche apps is all the more difficult as it compels users to download multiple apps. Virtual assistants like GoButler help alleviate this problem by finding anything on-demand - Love Your Competitors:
Competition is never a bad thing in any market space; it is a means of bringing on better and faster innovation. Entrepreneurs need to take it as a form of validation for their business and continue to work hard and focus to be successful.
Below are some of the key points and moments from the conversation:
- 0:39 – Alex talked about himself and how he started LiquidTalent in 2013, while Navid spoke about GoButler
- 3:09 – Gig or on-demand economy has changed the way we behave and will continue to grow in the future. Scaling of niche apps, discovery, and customer retention are the biggest challenges faced in this economy
- 7:52 – Gig economy has changed the way consumers interact with each other; this economy is not very prominent in a skilled workforce
- 11:14 – On-demand businesses need digital assistants like GoButler to acquire customers and add scale; LiquidTalent sees no competition in its space as the business focuses on providing a local community of exceptional professionals, on demand
- 14:31 – Online talent platforms can boost global GDP by $2.7T by 2020; apps with simple UI like Airbnb, Uber, and FlyCleaners are some of the online platforms shaping the gig economy
- 19:00 – LiquidTalent launched its mobile app and is in stealth mode for its web platform; GoButler’s future strategy was to acquire customers, improve its technology, and scale
- 20:44 – Q&A – Will GoButler develop an app for its platform?
- 21:57 – Q&A – Will on-demand economy replace the conventional labor force?
